Step and step-operating mechanism.



@Ho/muur R. T. SENTER. STEP AND STI-:P OPERATING MEOHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 4, 1912. 1,105,705. Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

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'IHln' NORRIS PETERS L`() PHOTO-1.177104* WASHINGTON, D` C R. T. SBNTER.

STEP AND STEP OPERATING MBGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED ma. 4, 1912.

1,105,705. Patented Aug. 4, 1914L Gitana THE A'ORRIS PETRS U0., PHO'l'O-LITHO. WASHINGTON. l)4 L" TINTTETD STATES PATENT OFTPTE.`

RALPH ,'l. SENTER, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE NEAR-SIDE CAR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A

CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

STEP ANI)` STEP-OPERATING MECHANISM.

monroe.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Original applic-ation filed July 5, 1911, Serial No. 638,635. Divided and this application led March 4, 1912.

Serial No.

To all whom t may concern p Be it known that I, RALPH T. Sauron, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county ot' Philadelphia and State ot` Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useit'ul Improvements 1n a Step and Step-Operating llflechanisinkot which the following is a specitication, retorence being had therein to the accompanying d rawin g.

This invention relates to a step and step operating mechanism and is designed more particularly tor use in connection with street cars.

I have shown the invention as applied to the emergency exit oit a street car of the type shown and described in the application tiled by me July 5th, 1911, u'erlal Number (908,635, of which application the present application is a division.

The object oit the invention is to provide a step having two treads which can be moved into an operative or an inoperative position.

1t is also an object of the invention to provide a step, the tread of which may be :folded against the trame oi the car and which will be retained in either .its folded or its operative position by gravity; to provide .means whereby this step may be operated from different parts of the car; and to provide means for operating the same in unison with the door controlling the exit adjacent to which the step is mounted.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a detail view oit the step and its operating mechanism showing the adjacent portions oit the ear in dotted lines; Fig. 2 is an elevation ot the rear operating mechanism for the step and door; Fig. 3 is a plan view ot the same; Fig. 4t is a perspective view of a portion of the front platform of a ear showing the mechanism for operating the door and step -from the ,trent end oit the car; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the step showing the same in its operative position; and Fig. G is a similar view ot' the step showing the same in its inoperative or folded position.

in these d awings I have illustrated one embodiment oit my invention and have shown the same as applied to a street car having its main entrance and exit at the front end thereof and provided at the rear ond with an emergency exit only. It will be obvious, however, that the step and the operating mechanism can be used in various positions and with cars oi various kinds. Gars of the type here illustrated have no bacli platform, that is, the l'loor ot the rear portion of the car is on the same level as the floor oit the main portion of the car and, consequently, the door sill is a considerable distance above the street level, thus making it desirable to provide a step having two treads.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings the Hoor of the rear portion of the car, which is shown in dotted lines, is indicated by the reference numeral 1 and the door 2 is shown as controlling an exit or doorway at the side of the car. This door is formed in two sections, as shown, and one of the sections is rigidly secured to a doorssupporting rod 3 mounted .in bearings and arranged vertically along one edge oit the doorway or exit. The other section oit the door is hinged to the firstmentioned section and is so guided that when the door-supporting lrod b is actuated to move the door into an open position, said second section will be folded onto the .first section, as shown in the drawings. This construction of door is not a part ot the present invention and need not be :further shown or described in detail. It is desirable that this door 2 should he capable of being operated trom either the 'front platform, where the oitieers are ordinarily stationed, or trom the rear `oi" the ear. In the ordinary operation of the car this rear exit is used ttor emergency purposes only, as when a loaded car reaches :its destination or a stop where all or a large number ot the passengers wish to alight, then the ollicer on the ntrent platform will open the emergency door and permit the passengers to alight from the rear end, as well as the trent end of the car.

Sometimes in the operation ot ears oit this` type the conductor is stationed for a portion ot the route on the rear platform and it is then desi 'able that the rear doors should be capable ot being controlled from therear end oi the car. W'hen applied to other types ot cars or other locations it may be desirable to operate the door Yfrom ditlerent points of the car ttor other reasons. To permit oi the door being so (merated the pivoted supporting rod 3 is provided at its lower end with a crank arm 4, which crank arm is connected nected by a rod 9 with a crank arm 10 'on' the lower end of a vertical rod or shaft 11 mounted in the forward part of the car adjacent to the station of the oflicer who isto control the rear exit. rangement of the car the conductor has charge of the rear eXit and the vertical shaft 11 is arranged near his station. The other arm of the bell crank lever 8 is connected by a rod 12 with one arm of a bell crank lever 13 which is pivotally mounted in a bracket lll depending from the frame of the car near the rear end thereof. llhe other arm of the bell crank lever 13 is connected by a rod 15, which extends upwardly through a protecting' casing 1G, to an arm 17 secured to a short shaft 18 journaled in a bracket 19ysecured to the rear wall of the car. 7lhe upper end of the vertical shaft 11 and the outer end of the short shaft 13 at the rear end of the car are both squared and are adapted to receive a detachable handle 20, thus enabling the handle to be transferred from one operating,` member to the other and permitting the conductor or other oliicer to operate the door from that end of the car at which he may be stationed. The outer end of the squared shaft at the rear of the car is provided with a slot in which is pivoted a cross bar or member 21 adapted to be turned lengthwise of the shaft to permitthe handle to be placed upon the squared end thereof and then turned crosswise of the shaft to lock the handle in position thereon.

The step for the rear exit is shown at 22 and is adapted to be moved into an operative or inoperative position as the door is opened or closed. ln the present instance the step structure consists of two cast iron brackets 23 upon which are mounted the two treads of the step. The brackets 23 which constitute the frame of the step are pivotally mounted upon a shaft 24, the axis of which is so arranged that when the step is tilted the upper tread and the upper portion of the bracket will form a counterweight to hold the step in its inoperative position, that is, with the lower tread against the face of the door sill, without theJ use of eXtra weights. The shaft 24 is journaled in suitable bearings formed in brackets 25 carried by the frame of the car. The upper and inner portion of the frame of the step is provided with a projection 26 arranged to engage a suitable stop, such as an angle iron 27, carried by the door sill orother suitable portion of the car frame,

In the present ar-` and thus limit the downward movement of the Step and support the samein its operative position. vWhen tilted up to its inoperative position the face of the lower tread will restagainst the sill and the frame of the step and the upper tread will lie beneath the rear portion of the car and there Vwill be no part-s to project outwardly beyond the limits of the side of the oar.

The step structure is operated inunison with the doorfor the rear exit and, in the present instance, the shaft 2d has secured thereto a crank arm 28 which is connected by a rod 29 with a crank arm 30 on the vertical shaft 7, the arm 30 being so arranged with reference to the arm 6 that the movement of the shaft will simultaneously impart the proper movements to the door and the step.

The lever 20 is preferably of such a character that it can be adjusted to the desired position with relation to the shaft on which it is mounted. As shownl in Figs. 2 and 3 the lever is provided with a' handle 31 in which is slidably mounted a pin 32, the lower end of which rests upon one arm of a bell crank lever 33 pivoted on the lever 20 and the other arm of which is connected with a spring-pressed dog; 34 adapted to engage between the teeth of a head 35, rotatablymounted in the `end of the lever, which is enlarged to receive it, and provided with a squared opening to receive the squared end of the shaft. By pressing the pin 32 when thehandle 31 has been grasped the dog` 3d can be released from the toothed head 35 and the lever adjusted to the desired position with relation to the shaft. In order to prevent the opening,` of the rear door without the conductors consent the shaft 11 at the-front platform is prevented from rotation by a pin 36 project-l ing therefrom and arranged to strike against a second pin 3'? mounted on a fixed part, such as a bracket in which the. shaft is journaled. rlhe shaft 11 cannot be rotated until the pin 37 is removed or raised so as to clear the projection or second pin 33. When the door is to be operated from the rear portion of the carthe pin 37 must first be removethas it will be understood that the shaft. 1l rocks about its vertical axis whenever the door is opened or closed regardless of whether the mechanism is actuated from the front or the rear of the car.-

lt will be apparent from the foregoing description that l have provided a car step having two treads which can .be folded into a position in which there will be no parts projecting beyond the side of the car; and that this step can be operated in unison with the rear door and that both the door and the step may be operated from -any one of a. plurality of different points upon the car.

`While I have shown and described one embodiment of the invention it will be understood that this has been chosen for the purposes of illustration only and that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction shown and described, for obvious modications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with a ear frame, of a step comprising brackets, a tread carried by said. brackets, means for pivotally supporting said brackets beneath the trame of the car, the pivotal center of said brackets being so arranged that the tread may be moved against the 'frame of the car and when in this position the remainder of the step structure will lie beneath the frame of the car and the center of gravity of said step structure will lie on that side of said pivotal center opposite the tread.

2. In a passenger' car, the combination, with a doorway and a pivoted step therefor, said step having a plurality of treads so arranged that when raised into inoperative position thc lower tread of the step will lic against the doorway sill, the upper part of the step structure at the same time being thrown back beneath the car structure.

3. In a passenger car, the combination, with a doorway and a pivoted step therefor, said step having a plurality of treads so arranged that when raised into inoperative position the lower tread of the step will lie against the doorway sill, the upper part of the step structure at the same time being thrown back beneath the car structure, and means operable from diliierent parts of the ear for controlling the position of said step.

4. In a passenger car, the combination, with a doorway and a pivoted step therefor, said step having a plurality of treads so arranged that when raised into inoperative position the lower tread oit the step will lie against the doorway sill, the upper part of the step structure at the same time being thrown back beneath the car structure, operating mechanism to raise and lower said step, and actuating devices-arranged in the front and rear portions, respectively, of said car, and a single handle for said actuating devices adapted to be transferred from one to the other thereof.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RALPH T. SENTER.

Witnesses:

EDWARD I?. RAwLn, HENRY C. EsLiNG.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ot Patents. Washington, D. C. 

